This application is based on and claims the benefit of German Patent Application No. 198 27 347.9 filed Jun. 19, 1998, which is incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a method for offering and keeping ready network capacity in a telecommunication network and a network management unit.
The introduction of competition in telecommunications has resulted in a situation that can hardly be compared with conventional business processes and that is now to be brought under control by technical means. The network capacity existing in a telecommunications network, frequently referred to as resources, is not marketed like merchandise, i.e., produced and sold, but leased comparable to real estate. One of the differences from leasing real estate, however, is the time periods to be taken into account. Real estate is typically leased long-term. Furthermore, it is usual to re-lease for the subsequent period as early as during the end phase of a tenancy. Except in special cases, even if an offer is submitted, there is no agreed upon reserve period during which this offer is valid exclusively for one applicant. In contrast, the network capacity in a telecommunications network is xe2x80x9cleasedxe2x80x9d in different periods. On the one hand the switching equipment of the telecommunications network switches relatively short individual connections. On the other hand the communications equipment of the telecommunications network provides transmission channels with higher capacity over longer periods, whereby an offer phase may have to be taken into account during which the offered network capacity should actually be available in case of acceptance. During such an offer phase, the offered network capacity is therefore blocked in practice.
If on the one hand several offers are made at a given time and on the other hand the duration of the offer phases are not negligible compared to the subsequent lease periods, a part of the network that is technically fully available is in fact continually blocked.
An object of the invention is to define a method and a network management unit by means of which network capacity can be offered and kept ready without blocking an unnecessarily large amount of the technically fully available part of the network.
This object is attained according to the invention by a method and a network management unit described herein.
According to the invention, a parameter is introduced, which takes into account the probability of offer acceptance. Consequently, only a part of the offered network capacity is blocked.
Additional embodiments of the invention are set forth in the subclaims and in the following description.